Press for flattening tin cans



Aug. 3Q, 13 J. M. WRIGHT PRESS FOR FLATTENING TIN CANS 2 Sheet eet 1 Fil d' June 14, 1957 mlllllllllww efssc M 09;,

INV TOR EYs Aug. 30, 1938 J. M. WRIGHT 7 PRESS FOR FLATTENING TIN CANS Filed June 14, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 35 32 3& mnuulmlun INVENTOR J JS M Wig/2f.

' ATTOR N EYS Patented Aug. as, was Efifgdgfifih I Widths 2,128,630 mass ron surname m cans Jesse lt'i. Wright, Claysburg, Pa. Application June 14, 1937, Serial-No.14l8,'194

' Claims. (or. 153-410) This invention relates to a press for flattening which is rigidly secured to a press plate 19, as tin cans. best shown in Figure 4.

Tim cans, in which fruits, vegetables, meats Crank arms 20 are fixed to the ends of .the and the like are packed, are bulky when empty shaft it and links 2| are pivoted to the ends of 5 and tend to accumulate in unsightly piles. With the crank arms as shown at 22 and are provided 5' this objection in mind the object of the present with collars 23 which are swivelly mounted on invention is to provide a press for crushing and the cylindrical ends ll of the bar I8.

deforming tin' cans into substantially flat condi- A lever it is fixed at one end to the shaft l4 tion so -.tl'i'at a large number of cans so pressed and provides means by which the shaft may be fiat may be stored ina smallspace. rocked when the lever is pushed forwardly. 10

t A further object of the invention is to provide When the lever is operated the crank arms I4 a device of this character which will be formed on the shaft pull the press plate rearwardly, two of a few strong simple and durable parts, which positions of the press plate being indicated diawill be inexpensive to manufacture and which grammatically at 25 and 26 in Figure 2. Movewill not easily get out of order. ment of the press plate flattens the empty tin 15 With the above and other objects in view the cans against the rear end wall i2 and when in invention consists of certain novel details of conthis flattened condition the cans may readily struction and combinations of parts hereinafter drop through the discharge slot i5. fully described and claimed, it being understood The lever is supported normally in an upright that various modifications may be resorted to position and the press plate is normally'held in 20 within the scope of the appended claims without its most forward position by springs 27 that are departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the secured to the side walls i l and to the pivot pins advantages of the invention, 22 of the crank arms and the links 2|. Stop pins In the accompanying drawings forming part ii prevent the springs from producing upward 5 of this specification, movement. of the inner ends of the arms 20 and -'Figure 1 is a plan view of a press constructed the links it. in accordance with the invention. In Figure 5 there is shown a modified form of Figure 2 is a side elevation of the press with the invention in which the shaft 28 is journaled portions broken away and showing diagrammatlin the extensions 29 of the sidewalls 30 of the box 30 cally two positions of the press plate. and is supported upon the rear end wall 3| of 30 Figure 3 is a front end elevation of the press. the box by bearings 32 mounted on the ends of Figure 4 is adetail perspective view of the press brackets 33 which are secured to the rear end plate. wall. A'worm gear at is fixed to the shaft for Figure 5 is a plan view of a modified form of rotating the shaft through the instrumentality. 35 press which may be power operated by an electric of an e c motor 5 av ng a worm 38 on its 35 t Y shaft 37 to rotate the bevel gear at reduced speed.

Figure 6 is a side elevation of the press shown The motor shaft pported in a bearing 38 in Figure 5 but s'howing the motor and pinion that iscarried by a bracket 39 which is secured driva to a base lii that connects the side wall exten- 40 Figure 715 a Side elevation of a difi d form of sions 29 in rear of the rear end wall El. 40 the invention, with parts broken away, in which AS Previously described t Shaft is q pp compressed is employed as a pawer source v with crank arms it which are pivotally con- Referring now t t drawings in which i nected to links 42 the outer ends of which are characters of reference designate similar parts in Provided with bearings 3 0 re v e p 45 thevarious views, the can flattening machine is mg ends it O a bar which carries the press 45 shown to comprise a metal box consisting of a plate 45! The projectin nds of the bar are bottom lllQside walls H, and, a rear end wall 52. s i a t d i ts ii ormed 1onsitudi-' The side walls are extended beyond the rear'end i? in the ide W ls Of the box. wall and mounted in the extensions I3 is a shaft In the modified form of the invention shown M. The bottom of the box terminates shortof in Figure '7 the S aft 48 is journaled in the side 50 the rear end wall I2 to provide a discharge slot l extension 49 0f e @075 59 5 P d d l5.for the flattened cans. intermediate its ends with a crank 5|. The The side walls H are provided with longitudicrank is connected to the upp d P n nal slots lfi best shown in Figure 2, and slidably rod' 52, the piston 53 of which works in an air 55 mounted in the slots are the'end's ll of a bar it cylindertdto which compressed air is admitted 55 A spring 6i is connected to the crank 59 and to the base plate 52 which supports the air cylinder between the side wall extensions as. The spring returns the piston and the shaft as well as the press plate to initial position after each actuation.

From the above description it is thought that the construction and operation of the invention will be fully understood without further explanation.

What is claimed is: i

1. A press for flattening tin cans comprising a box having a bottom, side walls, and a rear wall, the side walls being extended beyond the rear wall, the bottom of the box terminating short of the rear wall and providing a discharge slot for flattened cans, a shaft journaled in the extensions of the side walls, the side walls having longitudinal slots therein, a presser plate having guide members on the sides fitting in said slots, links carried by the guide members, crank arms carried by the shaft and connected to the links, and means for rocking the shaft to rock the crank arms and through the medium of the links move the presser plate into close proximity of the rear wall to crush and flatten out cans against the rear wall to be discharged through the slot upon retrograde movement of the presser plate.

2. A press for flattening tin cans comprising a box having a bottom, side walls, and a rear wall, the side walls being extended beyond the rear wall, a-shaft mounted in the extensions of the side walls in rear of the rear wall, the bottom of the box terminating short of the rear wall .to provide a discharge slot for flattened cans, the

" side walls being provided with longitudinal slots,

'rear wall for crushing and flattening tin cans against the rear wall.

3. A press for flattening tin cans comprising a box having a bottom, side walls, and a rear wall, the side walls being extended beyond the rear wall, the bottom of the box terminating short araaeso of the rear wall and providing a discharge slot for flattened cans, a shaft journaled in the extensions of the side walls, the side walls having longitudinal slots therein, a presser plate having guide members on the sides fitting in said slots,

links carried by the guide members, crank arms carried by the shaft and connected to the links. a gear fixed to the shaft for rotating the shaft to rock the crank arms and through the'medium of the links move the presser plate into close proximity of the rear wall to crush and flatten out cans against the rear wall to be discharged through the slot upon retrograde movement of the presser plate, an electric motor, and a pinion on the motor shaft meshing with the gear for driving the gear.

'4. A press for flattening tin cans comprising a box having a bottom, side walls, and a rear wall, the side walls being extended beyond the rear wall, the bottom of the box terminating short of the rear wall and providing a. discharge slot for flattened cans, a shaft journalecl in the extensions of the side walls, the side walls having longitudinal slots thereima presser plate having guide members on the sides fitting in said slots, links carried by the guide members, crank arms carried by the shaft and connected to the links. means for rocking the shaft to rock the crank arms and through the medium of the links move the presser plate into close proximity of the rear wall to crush and flatten out cans against the rear wall to be discharged through the slot upon retrograde movement of the presser plate, and a spring secured to one of the side walls and to the pivotal connection between the links and the crank arms for returning the parts to initial position after each actuation;

- 5. A press for flattening tin cans comprising a box having a bottom, side Walls, and a rear wall extended beyond the side walls, the bottom of the'box terminating short of the rear wall and providing a discharge slot for flattened cans,a shaft journaled in the extensions of the side walls, the side walls having longitudinal slots therein, a presser plate having-guide members on the sides fitting in said slots, links carried by the guide members, crank arms carried by the shaft and connected to the links, a second crank arm on the shaft, a piston connected to said second crank arm, a piston cylinder for the piston into which compressed air may be admitted to move the piston and rock said second crank arm for turning the shaft to move the links and the first named crank arms to advance the presser plate against the rear wall for crushing cans against the rear wall, and a spring connected to said second crank arm and to a part or said box for returning the parts to initial position after each actuation. I JESSE M. WRIGHT. 

